Blog

Porter Wright’s Labor and Employment Department represents management clients in matters ranging from complex employment discrimination and wrongful discharge litigation, including class actions and ERISA litigation, to compliance with various federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations, including the FLSA.

Recent Blog Posts

Wage and Hour Division announces pilot limited “amnesty” programBy Brian Hall
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has announced a new nationwide pilot program, called the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, which is designed to facilitate resolution of potential overtime and minimum wage violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). According to the WHD’s website describing the program, the program’s primary objectives are to resolve wage and hour claims expeditiously and without litigation, to improve employers’ compliance with overtime and minimum wage obligations...More

Second Circuit holds that Title VII prohibits sexual orientation discriminationBy Caroline Gentry
In a landmark decision, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Zarda v. Altitude Express, Inc., en banc, became the second federal appellate court to hold that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)), which makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate on the basis of sex, also prohibits discrimination on the basis of a person’s sexual orientation. It appears that the defendant does not intend to seek Supreme Court review. Therefore,...More

ADA public accommodations law reform on its way?By Jamie LaPlante
Yesterday (Feb. 15, 2018), The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, the ADA Education and Reform Act (HB 620), that would impose new requirements on plaintiffs before they file a lawsuit. Places of public accommodations, including websites and apps, would have 6 months to bring their place of public accommodation into compliance before a claimant could file a lawsuit seeking injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees.
Any employer who is also a place of public accommodation knows that lawsuits...More

NLRB discards Obama-era decisionsBy Jourdan Day
After Republicans regained control of the majority seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the board) for the first time in nearly nine years, the majority has swiftly reset the board’s tone. Recently, the NLRB has been busy taking steps to undo some of the more labor and employee friendly standards and opinions that were implemented under the Obama Administration. The result is a return to what many employers would consider to be a common sense...More

Administration disavows proposal to limit all H-1Bs to six yearsBy Rob Cohen
On Dec. 30, 2017 McClatchy News reported that USCIS was considering an interpretation of a provision in the American Competitiveness in the Twenty First Century Act that would restrict H-1B visas from extensions beyond six years. This story provoked a fire storm of panic among Indian H-1B visa holders who have been waiting for an available immigrant visa while caught in backlogs often in excess of 10 years and longer. While many lawyers cautioned that the statute could...More

D.C. Federal Judge vacates the EEOC’s Workplace Wellness Program Rules, effective Jan. 1, 2019By Jamie LaPlante
On Dec. 20, 2017, a D.C. federal judge held that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s workplace wellness program rules – which permit employers to incentivize employees who participate in workplace wellness programs—will be vacated on Jan. 1, 2019. The judge held that the EEOC failed to provide a reasoned explanation for the rules, which he believed violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) without a reason for permitting an exception...More

NLRB establishes new standard for evaluating employee handbook policiesBy Brian Hall
The new Republican-led National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has wasted little time in reconsidering decisions made during the Obama Administration. In its Boeing, Inc., decision, announced on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, the board overturned its Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia decision that has guided its evaluation of employee handbook policies for the past 13 years and most recently has come under intense criticism from the employer community for chipping away at common employee handbook policies.
During the past eight years, the...More

New top lawyer for NLRB signals changeBy Mike Underwood
Peter Robb is President Trump’s new General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He was confirmed by the Senate in November. The General Counsel is the top lawyer guiding NLRB enforcement activity. Direction from the General Counsel’s office influences how NLRB Regional Directors enforce the law and has a significant impact on legal issues facing union, as well as non-union, companies. In a memo issued on December 1 to all of the NLRB Regional Offices around...More

SCOTUS allows travel ban 3.0 to take effectBy Anna Robosson
The third time is the charm for the Trump Administration, for now. On Monday, Dec 4, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order allowing President Trump’s third attempt at a travel ban to take full effect while the issue of its constitutionality is litigated in the circuit courts. This decision has the practical effect of lifting hard-fought blocks against the controversial ban.
The travel ban has been a source of contention since its inception in January 2017, when...More